


Summer Camping

by lecastellet



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Anxiety, Brendon's character is the best I've ever written, Fluff, Formula 1, M/M, Summer Camp, Tears (including mine while writing this)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 05:09:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15236037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lecastellet/pseuds/lecastellet
Summary: When the summer break starts after the Hungarian Grand Prix, the drivers go on their annual Summer camp together. However, one of the drivers goes missing. Pierre and Stoffel go looking for him together, both completely unaware of their feelings for each other.





	Summer Camping

**Author's Note:**

  * For [montecarlos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/montecarlos/gifts).



It was July 30th, the Monday after the final race before the summer break. Every year, the drivers would all meet up on that day to go camping together. It was always something everyone was looking forward to from early on in the season. They would often sit by a bonfire together, roast marshmallows and sleep in tents at night (when they would sleep). Usually, everyone would have finished packing long before since they didn’t have much time after the Hungarian Grand Prix to fly home, pack, sleep and be in time for the bus that left in the early morning, but Pierre hadn’t packed yet.

A few hours before the first qualifying session at the Hungaroring Pierre’s teammate Brendon had asked him about the event since it was his first time joining them. Pierre’s eyes widened at the mention, he had completely forgotten. He hadn’t brought enough normal clothes with him to last him another week. He couldn’t ask his teammate to borrow extra clothes because he was way taller than him, even though Brendon always overpacked. He would have to sort it out with someone else, who had roughly the same height. He wandered around the motorhomes in search of a potential match. 

“Pierre!” He heard someone behind him call as he could hear footsteps approaching him quickly. He turned his head over his shoulder and noticed it was the McLaren driver, Stoffel. 

“Hey, what’s up?” Pierre smiled at him cheekily. 

“I was uhh-” Stoffel began, Pierre noticed the Belgian driver’s burning cheeks. “I was wondering if you’ve already seen the group layout for the trip Monday” He smiled softly.

“I haven’t actually, are we paired together?” Pierre asked. Stoffel nodded.

“You and Brendon are paired up with me and Fernando.” He explained. “I hope you and Brendon have brought all the utilities because Fernando and I most certainly haven’t” He chuckled.

Pierre licked his lips “Euhm, I- eh, speaking of..” He stuttered slightly. “I might have forgotten to pack..” He cleared his throat. “I thought maybe you.. have some extra shirts packed I could borrow?”

“Oh- uh!” Stoffel looked around hastily. “Yeah, of course, I think we should be about the same size, do you want to come with me to my motorhome to try some of them on?” He asked nervously.

“I’m meeting with my trainer in 30 minutes to warm up, that should be enough right?” Pierre asked. Stoffel nodded. 

“Yeah, I think so!” He smiled and guided Pierre to his motorhome. He typed in the passcode and opened the door. He let the Frenchman enter first and closed the door behind them. 

 

Stoffel walked over to the cupboard and grabbed a stack of shirts off of it. “Here, these should be able to fit. I always have some spare shirts on hand in case I spill anything on them” He smiled and handed Pierre the stack. “Here, try a few on and see if they fit right. Do you want anything to drink?” He turned around to let Pierre change and opened the fridge. “I only have water.” He said.

Pierre lifted his Toro Rosso polo over his head and dropped it onto the bed where he had placed the stack of clothes. “No thank you, I’m good.” He said and grabbed the top shirt off the stack, it was a plain white v-neck shirt. Stoffel glanced over quickly and grabbed himself a bottle of water. Pierre looked in the mirror. The shirt was just a little bit big on him but he figured he could get away with it. 

“Looks good” Stoffel commented. Pierre smiled back at him.

“Yeah, I think these should be fine, thank you. Are you sure you don’t need them?” He asked the McLaren driver.

Stoffel shook his head. “As long as you return them when you’re done with them.” He teased. Pierre smiled and changed back into his polo. He tried his best to re-fold the shirt and lifted the stack into his arms. He thanked him and left the motorhome. On his way to his own motorhome, he ran into his teammate, Brendon. 

“Those aren’t yours aren’t they?” He commented on the stack of badly folded shirts his teammate was carrying. Pierre swallowed.

“You always notice everything don’t you?” He chuckled. “I eh- I kind of forgot to pack for summer camping.” He admitted. 

Brendon gasped. “How could you forget such thing? You should be glad I packed enough utilities for the four of us. I spoke to Fernando a few minutes ago and he and Stoffel didn’t even bring any themselves!” He said, slightly frustrated. 

“I’m sorry Bren, I forgot.” He shrugged and typed in the passcode to his motorhome. “I’ll see you at qualifying okay?”

The morning after the race Gasly tried his best to shove everything into his backpack, as he sent the other bag of used clothes back home with his brothers who came over to the circuit to watch the Grand Prix. He was running slightly late so he rushed to put his shoes on and left the motorhome quickly before he pulled a sprint towards the bus that was leaving in only 2 minutes. He stepped in, followed by many comments about how everyone was still surprised he showed up. He certainly wasn’t the one with the best memory. 

The only available seat on the bus was next to Sergey, the Williams driver. He never really spoke much, so the Frenchman decided to catch up on some sleep since he hadn’t really slept well the night before and the camping sleeping mats weren’t great either. He greeted and sat down next to the Russian driver who preferred to sit at the exit rather than the window. He shoved his bag underneath the seat in front him and popped in his earphones. He rested his head against the glass and closed his eyes.

He woke up after the bus had stopped at their destination, Sergey had to wake him, otherwise, he would have just stayed asleep for even longer. He pulled his bag out from under the chair in front of him and swung it over his shoulder. He walked down the small path leading to the bus exit and thanked the driver. He noticed his teammate had brought at least 2 big suitcases filled with everything they were going to need for the coming week. Brendon noticed Pierre had only brought his backpacked, followed by a shocked look.

The four of them decided they would share the two tents available for them with their own teammates. Brendon did most of the work setting up the tents, because no one else really knew how and it would just drive him insane at some point, Fernando got the campfire ready so they could start roasting some hot dogs for lunch, and Pierre and Stoffel got the air mattresses ready and did their best to shove two of them in the way too tiny tents as soon as Brendon had finished putting them up. 

As soon as Fernando and Daniel had finished making everyone hot dogs everyone gathered around the campfire where they got their hot dogs. The Australian Red Bull driver got up on one of the logs and held his hot dogs up in the air, trying to get everyone’s attention. 

“Gentlemen, and boys” He smiled brightly and glanced over towards Max, which resulted in an angry stare back. “I’d like to welcome everyone to the annual Formula One driver's summer camp!” Everyone cheered and held up their drinks. Some had a beer, some had vodka which Kimi had brought against the rules (again), some just had plain water. “Cheers lads and let’s make it a good time.” Dan chanted and sat back down onto the log. Everyone downed their drink in one go and ate their hot dogs. 

“Hey, has anyone seen Fernando?” Stoffel asked the Toro Rosso boys. Pierre and Brendon sat around the small gas burner, as Brendon was explaining him the importance of knowing the safety instructions and hazards before even attempting to use it since Pierre was desperate to boil water for some instant coffee. Pierre looked up at Stoffel and shook his head. “No, why?” He frowned. 

“No one has seen him for at least an hour” He sighed, appearing very stressed about the situation. 

“I’m sure he’ll turn up sooner or later” Pierre tried to reassure him. “Have you told Daniel about it?” 

Stoffel nodded and looked behind him only to notice Daniel getting up on the ‘announcement log’.  
“Gentlemen and boys, may I please have your attention?” He shouted and clapped his hands to make sure everyone would look up. “It seems that Fernando has run off, again.” He said. “Now everyone is aware that this has also happened the last time we went camping. He’ll turn up eventually as long as everyone just doesn’t make a big deal about it alright?” The Australian driver stepped back down and continued pouring drinks for everyone. 

Stoffel sighed and rubbed his face. “It’s a big deal to me.” He said quietly enough for only Pierre and Brendon to hear.

“I’ll come looking for him with you.” Pierre got up, only to get a deadly look from Brendon. Brendon folded his arms and opened his mouth to lecture him again.

“You know this is a very stupid idea Pierre! What if you get lost and we’ll have to miss the three of you. I’m not going to play the group games by myself!” Brendon said, obviously frustrated. “But I know that I will not be able to stop you anyways, so take this with you.” He reached over into his ‘emergency kit’ and took out a big ball of red thread. “Tie this around a nearby tree so you’ll be able to find your way back. Don’t let go of the thread.” He explained.

“Why don’t you just come with us?” Pierre asked.

“Valtteri and Lewis have been ‘borrowing’ other group’s stuff again, so I’m not risking losing ours. One of us is going to have to stay here to keep an eye out.” He glared over at the Mercedes boys’ tent. 

“Don’t tell anyone okay?” Pierre asked. “I can’t have Daniel giving me lectures on top of yours.” He joked. Brendon rolled his eyes in response. 

Stoffel and Pierre snuck off into the forest, bringing the thread and some flashlights to be sure they wouldn’t end up getting stuck. Stoffel tied the thread around a nearby tree and held it all the way into the forest. 

“Fernando!” They called around, and they walked around for hours trying to look for the Spaniard. Last year when he had gone missing he was on his way to the lake to fish ended up falling asleep on a pile of leaves. The two boys sat down on a log to rest for a moment. Their feet hurt like hell. 

“We’re never going to be able to find him” Pierre sighed and rubbed his eyes. Even after the sleep, he had gotten on the bus and the instant coffee he had drunk he was still feeling tired. 

“Well he must be somewhere around here, I’m positive.” Stoffel sighed and gave a pat on the Frenchman's shoulder. Pierre nodded. He looked down at the leaves and crunched them with his feet. “We should head back, it’s going to get dark soon.” He commented.

Pierre nodded and got back up, Stoffel followed. He felt bad that he dragged Pierre into this, he didn’t want him to get stressed over the situation at all. He wanted to find a way to comfort him. They went on their long walk back, it had gotten pitch black when they had made it to the camp. Unlike expected, they found everyone still around the campfire. “There they are!” Seb shouted and pointed at the two boys. 

“How did they know we were missing?” Pierre said softly to Stoffel. 

“We missed dinner,” Stoffel whispered back.

They joined the rest around the campfire, only to be bombarded with the same questions over and over again. “Have you found him?” “Where did you go?” “What were you two doing in the woods?” “Didn’t Daniel tell everyone to just be chill about it?”

Eventually, it drove Pierre crazy. Everyone asked every single question at least 3 times, followed by them getting lectured by Daniel. He was exhausted from the race weekend, the trip and the search, and it was all getting a bit much for him to handle. He sat inside the corner where two separate logs connected, wrapped around in one of the blankets. Stoff noticed him acting different, and decided to sit beside him. He took a deep breath and wrapped his arm around Pierre, trying to comfort him. “We’ll find him okay?” He said softly. 

“It’s not just that,” Pierre said monotony and got out of his friend’s hold. 

Later that evening people were sharing conspiracies about where Fernando could be, and eventually, Lance offered to call the police. “Oh stop being a baby, do you want to ruin our reputation?” Kimi rolled his eyes at him. 

“Yeah, he’ll turn up eventually, just like last time.” Sebastian supported his teammate’s comment. 

After a night of drinking and eating a bunch of snacks, people decided it would be best to go sleep. Brendon got up with the rest and asked his teammate if he was coming too. Pierre shook his head. “Not yet, I’ll be there in a bit.” Brendon nodded in response and made his way into the tent, and zipped it shut behind him.

Everyone was in their tents, except for Pierre, who was still staring at the smoldering fire and Stoffel who was brushing his teeth by the small stream. “You alright?” Stoffel asked. “You haven’t moved all evening.”

Pierre nodded. “I’m fine, it’s just all been a bit much to deal with lately.” The Belgian finished brushing his teeth and rinsed his mouth before joining Pierre by the fire again. Stoffel had the biggest crush on Pierre ever since they met, but he had a strong feeling Pierre wasn’t ever going to see him as more than a friend. 

“Do you want to go over the plan for the search tomorrow?” Stoffel asked the Frenchman. He nodded in response and looked over at Stoffel as they discussed where they were going to look for Fernando next.  
“You know, I never thought you would look that good in my shirt.” Stoffel teased, surprising himself. He usually wasn’t one to make flirty comments, but he’d had quite a few drinks that evening. Pierre looked up from his lap and blushed softly. 

“I didn’t know you fantasized about me wearing your shirts before.” Pierre teased back, causing Stoff’s cheeks to flush bright red again. 

“The sun must start rising soon. I’m going to take a quick nap so I’ll be energized enough for the search tomorrow.” Stoff said and yawned. “Do you want to take a nap in my tent as well? Maybe it’s best if we don’t wake Brendon before he starts lecturing us again.” He joked. 

Pierre smiled and nodded. “That would be nice, thank you.” They walked to the McLaren tent together. Pierre undressed in front of the tent, leaving him in only his boxer briefs. The tent was way too small for both of them to undress in there at the same time. Pierre threw his clothes into the tent and climbed into the sleeping bag beside the Belgian. The two smiled and wished each other good night before both dozing off. 

The next morning Stoff woke up to an empty mat beside him. He rubbed his eyes and pulled on a new shirt and some shorts before opening the tent and climbing out. He smiled at the sight of Pierre helping Marcus and Carlos preparing breakfast for the rest of the guys. They were busy handing out plates when the Belgian walked up to them. “Morning” He smiled.

“Morning Stoff” Pierre smiled back at him and handed him a plate. “You must be hungry.” The McLaren driver nodded and took the plate from him. “Looks good.” He replied.

“Oh well you know, it’s all the French culinary skills.” Pierre teased, resulting in Carlos and Marcus giving him a deadly stare. “Okay sorry, these two made it.” He apologized quickly. 

Stoffel laughed and sat down by the bonfire to eat with the rest of the guys. “Made any progress on finding Fernando?” The Dutch driver asked him. 

Stoffel shook his head, “No, unfortunately not. We’re going to look for him by the lake and on the other side of the woods, those old legs of him couldn’t have gotten him that far.” He joked. The guys around him laughed. “Don’t let him know I that.”  
“You ready?” Stoff asked Gasly while slipping on his trainers. Pierre climbed out of the Toro Rosso tent to get some snacks for while they were looking for Fernando. 

“Yup, I’m ready to go.” He stretched. They walked to the other side of the camp together and tied the thread around one of the trees so they wouldn’t get lost. 

“Don’t miss dinner this time lads” Daniel commented. They both waved the guys goodbye and went back into the forest, calling out Fernando’s name. Stoffel loved the feeling of twigs and leaves crunching underneath his feet. They both hoped to find Fernando today because if they didn’t there wasn't much hoping that they would find him. The woods weren’t that big after all. 

“Fernando! Are you out here somewhere?” Pierre called.  
“Fernando!” They kept calling, hoping they would find him. They had been calling for hours, Pierre could feel his voice cracking, he was going to have to stop talking for the next few days because he could feel he was going to be losing his voice soon. 

They eventually reached the lake at the edge of the forest, but still no sign of Fernando. Pierre sighed and looked at the view, he rested his hands on his hips. “This is pointless, we’re never going to be able to find him.” He breathed out and closed his eyes for a few seconds trying to stay calm.

Stoffel didn’t know how to react, but he could notice the other guy’s hands shaking. “Pierre..?” He asked softly and looked over.

Pierre wiped his eyes and sniffled. “Sorry, I look freaking stupid like this.” 

Stoffel could feel his heart sinking into his stomach at the sight of the younger boy crying. “Hey, hey... It’s okay..” He said softly. Pierre rested the back of his head against one of the trees. 

“I’m sorry I’m fucking overreacting! I just want to know he’s okay! What if he, h-he-” The Frenchman started, but he got interrupted by Stoff’s lips softly pressed against his. His eyes widened, and the older boy pulled back immediately. 

“I am so sorry what the fuck” Stoff ran his hand through his hair. “I didn’t know how else to shut you up or what to say to calm you down.”

Pierre’s cheeks were bright red. He stepped forward and softly pressed his lips back against the Belgian’s for a soft, warm kiss. Stoffel cupped the younger boy’s cheek with one of his hands, the other hand on his lower back. Pierre softly moved his hand through the back of the older boy’s hair. Their hearts raced, and Pierre could feel chills running down his spine. He never thought the other boy would have feelings for him too.

After a couple of moments that felt like they were meant to last forever, they could hear leaves crunching behind them. They quickly pulled away from each other and looked at the figure appearing behind them.

“What are you guys doing here?” Fernando asked. He was holding a folding chair underneath his arm and a book in his hand. 

“Fernando?!” Stoffel gasped. “Holy fuck you’re… Where were you?!” He walked over to his teammate and hugged him tightly. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you.” 

“Yeah, I heard.” He replied. “I was trying to enjoy some peace and quiet for once. 

“Well, you could have just told us” The Belgian snapped back. 

“What’s the fun in that?” The Spaniard grinned.

Pierre’s mind was going crazy on their way back to the camp. Had Fernando seen them? What was going to happen to them if he did? Was he going to tell everyone? Was he going to get kicked out of the team? Since when had Stoffel wanted to kiss him? Were they going to kiss again? Were they ever going to talk to each other again?

“Guess who’s back, and just in time for dinner!”


End file.
